Other Poetry Forms

In addition to the poetical forms that served as purely a literary medium, there were many art forms, which were conveyed through the genre of poetry. This takes us to the evolution of the prominent dance forms of Kerala like the Kathakali and the Thullal. In addition there were entertainment forms like Sanghakkali, Chakkiar Koothu and Paathakam, which too had wonderful poetry interspersed in them.

It was in the ninth century that Koodiyaattam a dramatic form, emerged. The actors belonged to the Chakkiar community. They enacted the plays of well known Sanskrit poets like Bhasa, and Harsha, with great variation in the original style. The Chakiarkoothu another form of entertainment, had something in common with Koodiyattam. Koothu was the recital of puranic legends by the Chakkiar. It was in Sanskrit. Pathakam, a similar form, had Malayalam as its language. In both Pathakam and Chakiar Koothu, the narrator had freedom to ridicule even the king. The presentation generally was loaded with satirical humour, which made the rendering attractive to the audience.

It was Manavedan, a Zamorin of Calicut, who wrote Krishna Giiti in Sanskrit, modeled on the Gitaa Govinda. He later developed this into Krishnanattam, a dance drama. The Raja of Kottarakkara in south Kerala, once requested Manavedan to send his Krishnanattam troupe to his land for a performance. But Manavedan turned down the request. Provoked by this, the Raja created Ramanaattam (The story of Rama). Ramanaattam was the model from which the internationally acclaimed art form, Kathakali had its beginnings.